Various types of retractable needle systems currently exist in the art, with the object being to provide a protective cover or cap over the possibly wound-inflicting insertion needle. Insertion needles found in intravenous catheter insertion devices and hypodermic syringes must be very sharp to quickly and easily puncture the skin and tissue of the patient in order to provide medication directly into the vascular system. Additionally, the insertion needle is usually very thin and hard to see, especially in low-light conditions. It is possible for doctors and nurses to accidentally prick themselves with the needle, either prior to or after an insertion into a patient.
Pricking oneself prior to the insertion of a solution does not present much of a health risk, since the needles to be used are normally sterilized. Also, the insertion needle usually comes with a needle cap which is secured over the top of the needle to prevent the accidental puncturing of skin. When the doctor or nurse removes the needle cap, exposing the needle, there is little risk of being injured by the needle. However, upon removal and placing the needle cap back onto the needle, the fingers can be pricked by a slight visual miscalculation or by a motorneuro mistake. The consequences of this type of accident are more extreme.
Since the insertion needle has already punctured the skin and tissue of the patient, blood and body fluid containing viruses or bacteria which may be found in the patient could possibly be transferred to the health care provider by a single accidental prick.
Various types of diseases previously known could be conveyed by such an accident, including hepatitis and cholera.
In the last decade, an even more menacing and lethal virus, the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS virus, could be communicated by such accidental and catastrophic event. Since there is no known cure for AIDS at this time, a great deal of precaution is required to prevent the accidental prick of the health care provider by an insertion needle which has previously been used on a patient.
Many types of syringes of one type or another have been developed in an effort to address this problem yet allow the ease of use of more conventional hypodermic needles.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,985, issued to C. Saenz on Jul. 31, 1962, discloses a dental syringe adapter for concealing a needle of the hypodermic syringe prior to use by a dentist. The needle is retained in a housing until a syringe plunger is depressed and the needle is pushed out of the protective housing instead of being captively retained within a syringe body.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,380, issued to T. Armao on May 26, 1964, discloses a hypodermic syringe needle having a shield which need not be removed prior to the use of the needle and which can be disposed of along with the needle itself. Holes are provided near the end of the shield to permit the escape of air as the shield is collapsed, allowing the needle to protrude through the protective caps. The cap is held in an extended position by a spring which yields upon injection.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,290, issued to H. S. Weltman on Feb. 28, 1967, discloses a retractable needle syringe which retracts the needle into a fluid-containing body and not into the syringe plunger.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,971, issued to T. A. Leeson on Jun. 24, 1975, discloses a safety syringe for one-time use, including a plunger which is lockable by detent members and a slidable needle cap which is also permanently lockable to prevent reuse. The needle cap slides over the exterior of the syringe barrel and over the fixed needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,738, issued to R. Legendre on Jan. 11, 1983, discloses a pre-filled syringe having spikes upon the plunger rods to prevent the withdrawal of the plunger from the syringe barrel. No means is disclosed for protecting the user from accidental pricking with the tip of the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,663, issued to R. N. Hall on Nov. 22, 1983, discloses a self-sterilizing needle, wherein a capsule containing sterilizing fluid and having perforated ends of flexible material with elastic memory tendencies for self sealing after actual penetration by the forward end of the needle. The capsule is coaxially and slidably received over the forward end of the needle, with the forward exposed end of the needle slidably penetrating one end of the capsule and perforation for sterilizing of the needle. A syringe is provided for axially urging and positioning the capsule outward to its original position of rest. Then, the exposed end of the needle is again enclosed in the capsule for sterilization when the hypodermic penetration force is removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,057, issued to C. B. Mitchell on Dec. 23, 1986, discloses a needle coupled to a syringe barrel, wherein a needle guard is mounted on the barrel for movement from a retracted position in which the guard does not shield the needle, to an extended position in which the guard shields the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,274, issued to R. L. Fox on Sep. 22, 1987, discloses a safety needle attachment wherein the needle is initially and entirely surrounded by a protecting jacket which is releasably interlocked with a holder. When the needle is to be used, an interlocker is released and the jacket is effectively telescoped over the holder to project the needle through a membrane over the end of the jacket to a working position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,739, issued to N. M. Milorad on Oct. 27, 1987, discloses a hypodermic needle having a sleeve extending from a holder protectively covering the needle so that the sleeve can be placed against the body part where injection is to occur and with the needle tip proximate to the body part. By sliding the holder toward the body part, a detent restraint holding the sleeve in an extended position is overcome and relative retraction movement effected therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,068, issued to J. E. Hesse on Mar. 15, 1988, discloses a non-reloadable syringe wherein the plunger is permitted to be withdrawn for purposes of loading the syringe and permitted to be urged forward to discharge the contents of the syringe. However, means is provided wherein subsequent retraction of the plunger assembly is inhibited to prevent further loading and use of the syringe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,618, issued to J. Hagen on Apr. 5, 1988, discloses a protective enclosure for a hypodermic syringe needle formed by a tubular sleeve sized for friction fitting engagement over the barrel portion of the syringe. A needle guard portion is located at an opposed end, and pivotally removable arms operate to permit the needle to pass through a central channel of the needle guard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,144, issued to P. V. Choksi on Apr. 12, 1988, discloses a syringe system comprising a tubular barrel and a sleeve mounted on the barrel to slide lengthwise from a retracted position in which the needle is exposed, to an extended position in which the sleeve extends protectively about the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,150, issued to H. Baeumle on Apr. 12, 1988, discloses a tube-cannula syringe, the first cannula being disposed so as to be displaced relative to the second cannula, to be removable or displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the syringe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,663, issued to David E. Bogan on Apr. 19, 1988, discloses a sleeve guide having a pair of fasteners with cavities formed in them that fit over the flange and which are located in hypodermic syringes for grasping in the user's fingers. The guide in the retracted position prevents the accidental pricking by the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,233, issued to Michael B. Schneider on May 10, 1988, discloses a slidable sleeve over a syringe barrel that is connectable in a first position extending over a hypodermic needle and that is reconnectable in a second position along the syringe barrel to expose the needle for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,829, issued to J. Jacob et al., on May 31, 1988, discloses a pre-filled syringe with a retractable needle. A barrel of the syringe is removable within a casing from a remote pre-injection position to a forward injection position and back again. The barrel is moved forward allowing the needle to pass through an opening in a cap prior to injection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,380, issued to W. W. Gloyer et al., on May 31, 1988, discloses a syringe having a hollow barrel formed at the distal end to receive an injection piston carried by the plunger member which allows the needle to also retract within the barrel by extracting the piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,831, issued to John C. Kulli on May 31, 1988, discloses a cannula insertion needle housing. The housing includes a latch mechanism for extending and retracting the needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,290, issued to J. J. Schramm on Jun. 21, 1988, discloses a tubular shield which is adapted to protect users from injury. The tubular shield cooperates with the raised surfaces on the body of the medical appliance to be protected.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,170, issued to T. A. Golden on Jul. 5, 1988, discloses a protective sealing device comprising a block with which a sharp end of the needle can be held within to prevent accidental puncture. Also disclosed is a retaining shield which can be retracted over the needle to prevent accidental puncture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,272, issued to B. C. McFarland on Sep. 20, 1988, discloses a protective sleeve for a hypodermic needle which sleeve is completely dissociable from the hypodermic syringe. The protective sleeve is moved over the needle protecting position to the needle injection position solely by axial movement of the protective sleeve.
An International Patent Application filed by K. W. Gaarde and having a published number WO 89/00435, and a publication date of Jan. 26, 1989, shows a hypodermic syringe with a retractable needle in a needle holding mechanism which is integrally attached to a syringe body.
It is desirable that the insertion needle of the hypodermic needle or intravenous catheter device can be made available in a safe condition prior to insertion so that the health care provider will not accidentally prick his/her finger and require a new sterilized needle prior to the insertion into the patient. It is also a requirement that after insertion or sampling using the insertion needle, that the needle be safely and easily discarded without representing a continued health risk to anyone who may encounter the insertion needle, either on the premises of the health care facility, or in transit or arrival at the refuse collection area or disposal facility.
There is potentially a great interest in the health care industry to manufacture, sell, distribute, and use a hypodermic needle, an intravenous catheter insertion needle and a vacuum tube syringe that provides the type of safety as described above. It can be easily operated, proves to be completely reliable, and is easily and cheaply manufactured, yet still has a great deal of versatility for various applications using various needles in diameter and length and different sized vacuum tubes.
The features described above as being desirable for hypodermic syringes, intravenous catheter insertion devices and vacuum tube syringes are all provided for by the present invention.